4 Indians found dead near US-Canada border was a family from Gujarat
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa, which was instructed by external affairs minister S Jaishankar to work with Canadian authorities, also said a special team of Indian officials is camping in Manitoba to assist Canadian investigators.
TORONTO: The four Indian nationals who died from exposure to extreme cold on the Canadian side of the border with the United States on January 19 were members of a family from Gujarat, the Indian High Commission in Ottawa said in a statement on Thursday, citing information received from Canadian law enforcement.
A special team from India’s Consulate in Toronto is camping in Manitoba “to assist ongoing investigations by Canadian agencies and to render any consular services for the victims,” the statement added.
Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP has identified them as 39-year-old Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, his wife 37-year-old Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, their daughter 11-year-old Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, and son, three-year-old Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel.
The high commission said the autopsy has confirmed that “based on the circumstances, the death of all the persons have been determined to be consistent with exposure to the outdoor elements.”
The next of kin of the deceased have been informed and the Consulate General of India in Toronto is in touch with the family of the deceased and is providing consular support, according to a release from India’s High Commission in Ottawa.
The statement said a number of ideas are under discussion between India and Canada on the longer term issues that this tragedy has brought into focus and the need to ensure that migration and mobility are made safe and legal and that such tragedies do not recur.
These include India’s proposal of a comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement or MMPA to Canada to “prevent and suppress irregular migration, smuggling of migrants and human trafficking and to facilitate sustainable and circular mobility. The matter remains under consideration with Canada.
The Office of the Medical Examiner is in possession of the deceased persons and will coordinate with Indian officials for the release of the bodies to their next of kind. Thereafter, arrangements will be made for the transport of the remains back to India.
The bodies of the four victims were found just about 10 km from the American border and they may have succumbed due to a human smuggling operation gone wrong.
Seven other Indian nationals, linked to the tragic quartet found dead on the Canadian side of the border, were apprehended in the United States. One person, a 47-year-old resident of Florida Steve Shand was arrested by US authorities (though later released on bail) for allegedly “smuggling undocumented foreign nationals.”
Last Wednesday morning, Manitoba RCMP received “concerning information” from their counterparts that the US Customs and Border Protection or USCBP had apprehended a group of individuals who had crossed into the US from Canada, near the town of Emerson in Manitoba.
A search began and four hours later, at about 1.30 pm, RCMP officers found the bodies of three individuals were located on the Canadian side of the border, close to Emerson.
